"Often it is parents who are the first to open the door to music for their children by taking them to a concert. For me personally this experience so strongly impressed me that I wanted them to buy a piano for me. From the beginning I knew I would deal only with that. I graduated from the Music Academy in Bulgaria in the class of Konstantin and Julia Ganev. They studied in Russia and brought the Russian teaching methods also here. I obtained my general music worldview from them. Later I improved my skills in many master classes, I'm glad I have been exposed not only to the Russian but also to the Western musical traditions. After graduating the conservatory I specialized with world-famous pedagogue Frédérique Gevers in Belgium. Various influences more or less enrich the artist and eventually he or she becomes a cosmopolitan."

For Daniela Andonova, December began with a concert on the occasion of 110th anniversary since the birth of Bulgarian composer Lyubomir Pipkov. More about its repertoire:

"I dare say that I resumed the cycle called "Spring Frivolities". For some 30 years it had not been performed in its full version. It is dedicated to the famous Bulgarian pianist Martha Deyanova. I presented it at the Pianissimo Festival in 2004 on the occasion of Lyubomir Pipkov's birth anniversary. Recently, almost no piano competition in Bulgaria goes without a play from this cycle. I'm very proud that I was among the artists who perform this magnificent work. I have a strong affinity for the work of the genius composer Pipkov. On the one hand, he worshipped the traditional Bulgarian intonation and sonority without using folk music literally in his works. On the other hand, he received his education in France and the French aesthetic perceptions are clearly felt in his work."

In the second part of the concert, Daniela Andonova was joined by her colleagues from the Bellini trio - Ivan Krastev on violin and Hristo Ivanov on cello. They have been playing together for a third year now. According to the pianist, chamber and solo music are complementary and build the character of a mature musician.

The next appearance of Daniela Andonova in the last month of 2014 was in BIAD hall. There she presented works of Slavic composers and paid tribute to the 175th anniversary of Modest Mussorgsky. She says the link to her roots is strong, yet she has a strong sense of universality in music:

"In my artistic biography I've done portraits of many composers. One is Rodion Shchedrin. In the last 20 years of his life he has not been living in Russia, but in Western Europe - first in Spain, then in Germany. He is among the biggest names in the contemporary school of composing, but his piano works were not popular in Bulgaria. I made several premieres of his opuses. As a performer I always try to have a varied repertoire and include all styles."

The audio file contains recordings of the following works:

1.  Morning serenade of Franz Schubert

2.  Old Bulgarian chorale from Spring Frivolities of Lyubomir Pipkov

3.  Fragment from Seven Pieces of the Diary cycle of Rodion Shchedrin

English Rossitsa Petcova